Denison’s Weissbier has been brewed for twenty years in Toronto. From 1989 until 2003 it was brewed along with several other popular Bavarian beer styles at the brewpub on Victoria Street. While brewed there, it was known as Weizen.

Our Weissbier is an authentic Bavarian style wheat beer and has attracted an extremely loyal following and wonderful reviews from some of the world's top beer writers. In 2002 Denison's Wheat Beer became rated #1 in the world in the 'German Hefeweizen' category on ratebeer.com, and has remained in that place to this date.

Denison's Weissbier is true to style, served unfiltered and is very refreshing. Although its only ingredients are malted barley, malted wheat, imported hops, water and yeast, the special Bavarian yeast produces the classic but unusual flavours of a true wheat beer. Flavour notes such as banana, clove and vanilla are all present.

Can from the LCBO, 473ml into a pint glass (didn't have a weizen glass available!). Born on date L2610 (Nov. 26/2010).

Poured a golden orange, with a predominantly fizzy head the disappeared immediately (similar to that of a cola). No lace or retention, but a helluva lot of carbonation evident here. Wheat and banana dominate the nose, with a light spice and bubblegum to be found a bit deeper. Same flavours come through on the palate, but feel somewhat muted compared to the nose. Some alcohol felt here which is a bit surprising, and the carbonation is a bit high for my liking. Still maintains good drinkability, but the can is far inferior to having this on tap.

A: Might be the muddiest and most opaque hefe I've ever seen. I can just imagine a whole heap of wheat going into every glass of this. Head isnt sticking around long, I'm gonna go ahead and blame the dirty glass at my inlaws on that account

S: The usual suspects for a hefe, lots of banana and clove, some citrus as well. A powerfull aroma for the style.

T: more banana and clove, some apple cider enters the mix as well. orange zest on the finish. very refeshing. nice yeasty zap as well...

M: quite thick and grainy. again, the image of a huge amout of wheat being used in this comes to mind.

D: Not the most drinkable hefe, but certainly one of the best. Ive had this on Tap alot, and I think I prefer the tap version. I'll get around to reviewing that in the future.

It's been ages since I've had Denisons - used to be on tap in KW but the bar closed. Some cans picked up on a T.O. road trip will have to suffice.

Poured into a hefe glass. A slightly opaque golden brew, leaves about a half inch head that receded all too soon. A few flecks of yeast sediment make their way to the bottom of the glass.

Nose is typical hefe: banana, cloves, citrus, wheat.

Tastes like a hefe should; all the proper pieces are in the puzzle box. A slight apple taste and a mild graininess distinguishes Denisons from other major hefes. Cloves take second fiddle to the banana esters. Other than that, it's pretty damned good. Finishes dry.

Tart, aggressive carbonation at first, but a more appealing equilibrium is hit after a moment. Medium bodied.

If this were available more outside of T.O., I'd drink this all the time. Good local hefe. Went down incredibly smooth, no strangeness or funky flavors to be found. Just a good, solid hefe. Would love to have this on tap again.

Mildly hazy yellow orange with a dense white head with decent retention and lacing, this is a good looking beer. The nose is very good. Less intense than the best, there's a ton of wheat, rather raw, making this smell really like banana bread. A little spice is present as well, and there's just a little bit more fruit (mango and a little citrus). Rather understated, but nice. The palate opens prominently wheaty with moderate bready flavors and rather delicate array of bananas and clove. Delicately flavored, I do get a little tropical fruit on the finish. Light in body with medium-high carbonation, the finish is dry with a little spice. Excellent stuff, I'd love to try it fresher, though.

The beer pours a slightly hazy, golden honey color, with good head retention and lacing. The nose is fairly spicey, and shows a considerable amount of clove, nutmeg and "wheatiness." The clove is not overdone, and overall I thought this beer smelled pretty nice. Flavors replicate the nose pretty closely, but with a hint of citrus in the finish that helps to balance the spice and modest sweetness. The beer is quite smooth and a bit slick on the palate, and finishes well. Drinkability is very, very good. Always appreciate seeing low alcohol beers (relatively speaking) with this amount of flavor.

Pours a very slightly cloudy yellow. The aroma is a little yeasty with a hint of banana. The taste reminds me of bananas more than anything else. The aftertaste remains in my mouth a little longer than I'd like. The yeasty taste is kind of disconcerting after a while.

Pours a hazy golden with a nearly opaque tint and a thin ring of white head.Smell is highly spiced with a very wheaty aspect.Taste is well complex for a wheat. Starts with a light spice and transits to a wheat/yeast character. Finish is very dry- yeasty spice on the aftertaste.Drinks solidly- very refreshing.

I received my can of Denison's via a trade with Derek, thank you! I had been looking forward to this one for a while as I had recently become more interested in the style and this one was well received by the local beer community.

Poured from a can into a mid sized Bavarian style stein. I gave it some gusto towards the end, looking forward to a nice wheat beer head. I saw immediately that I was not going to happen. The carbonation was too large and the head just fizzed away quickly to a small ring of white foam.

The smell is mostly of citrus fruits with some banana underneath. It's pleasant but not exactly mind blowing.

Taste is fairly similar, light, citrusy with notes of banana. It's not very sweet which is nice and I think this aids in drinkability. As others have mentioned one could easily session this without becoming sick of it.

Mouthfeel is light and crisp because of the aggressive carbonation. I could see this pairing easily with lots of different meal types.

Pours a cloudy yellow with a nice thick white head, exactly what you'd want from a hefe. Smells of banana and spices. The banana taste seems to be more muted than the version on tap, but I think there is some added bubble gum sweetness. Also some cloves in there I think. Very smooth mouthfeel. I could drink many of these.

Appearance: Pours a slightly hazy light gold body that gets progressively cloudier as i finish the pour and the yeast mixes in. A good deal of foam that lasts pretty good and sticks to the side of the glass. Lovely!

Smell: I love that crisp weissbier aroma, like a gust of fresh air. Banana is predominant with a bread-like feel and a tinge of lemon in there. Very refreshing.

Taste: Heavy on the wheat and banana bread. At first it was a little shy but as it warmed, it opened up a bit more. Some underlying citrus fruit that's not quite lemon but can't put my finger on it. Digging the fresh wheat & yeast combination.

Mouthfeel: Low carbonation, well balanced flavor-wise but i found the body to be a bit lacking. Not well rounded enough for my tastes though it still is pleasing in the palate.

Drinkability: No troubles. Good taste & easy to drink. Glad to have another can and i'd happily have this on a regular basis.

Overall: Though it's not as good as authentic as a German weissbier, it's pretty close in my opinion and does the style proud. Recommended for sure.

I just had this on tap today at Volo and had to re-review, since it's apparently a completely different beer on tap.

Poured with a massive, bright-white meringue-like head, Denison's Weissbier is a glowing golden colour, hazy and opaque. Sheets of rocky lace all down the glass. Awesome retention. There could be no improvement.

The taste is lots of wheat, citrus, a touch of banana and spice and a bit of dust/must. Prickly bitterness. Wheaty finish. Pretty unique in terms of weissbiers I've had.

Awesome full body for a weiss. Refreshing high carbonation. Great feel.

Completely different brew on tap and canned! The canned version is only a shadow of the tap version, in my opinion. This is extremely sessionable and one of the very best, if not the best, weissbier I've had.

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Canned version from 02-11-2010:

Poured into a weizen glass. Dull, straw-coloured and opaque with cloudiness, its solid cover of bright white head fades to a ring around the glass. Barely any lacing. 3.5

Yeast, freshly baked bread, wheat, peppery, light hops, citrus, a little funky astringency. Only a touch of the banana you would expect in such a beer. Nice smell, but I could use some more presence. 3.5

Wheat, spices (coriander), a pleasant astringency, slight sweetness. Decent hop presence on the finish. I didn't think it was all that great at first but it grew on me. I like how it's a little more bitter than usual for a weiss beer, leaving a slightly drying finish. No alcohol present. 4.0

The feel is pretty nice. Medium body and lightly carbonated.4.0

I don't know...in my opinion there are a couple much better weiss beers in Quebec I would put on the Canadian top 25 ahead of this one. Still, this is quite a drinkable brew and one that I'm happy exists in Ontario, considering the relative absence of decent beers here. 4.0

The beer pours a hazy milky yellow with a white head. The aroma is very strong bananas with not much clove. The flavor is more of the same with bananas and wheat being the most dominant. Medium, soft mouthfeel and low carbonation.

This is apparently Canada's best weissbier - about time I got to try it, before tearing into Cafe Volo's more potent offerings...

This beer appears a hazy light peach colour, with three fingers of foamy, creamy white head, which leaves a bit of specked lace around the glass as it slowly recedes. It smells of soft grainy wheat, banana, and some mild white pepper. The taste is quite fruity and sweet - apple and pear, mostly - over a very soft wheatiness, and light, dry earthy hops. The carbonation is moderate, but fades quite quickly, the body decently weighted, smooth, and fruity, and it finishes slightly off-dry, with a smidgen of yeast.

Well, even though I am not a big fan of the style, this is still the best weissbier that I have ever had - smooth, tasty, and very enjoyable to drink.

Edit: Next can has the nice swirling carbonation I would expect which raises the score some. Still a slightly odd smell almost bordering on Brett funk/barnyard (not typical when on tap). Tasty, drinkable beer.

Had this a number of times on tap, first time in the can - let's see how it transitions. 500ml from the LCBO.

Pours the typical unfiltered golden, hard to see through. Loads of big bubbly head build up and then pop right down to nothing. Not much to muster on a swirl, the typical spot on carbonation is not there...

Nose is a nice balance of grains, bubblegum and banana, perhaps leaning a bit toward banana - and then a slightly funny yeasty/mineral note. I'm thinking this can might not be as representative as could be...

Still a very drinkable, tasty brew despite it's 'off'ness. Loads of unfiltered flavor, bubblegum, yeasty fruits, grain, a hint of lemon. Just doesn't have the punch that it would with appropriate carb, kind of a shadow of what I know it to be fresh on tap.

Will have to try again and re-rate from the can, hopefully this is just an aberration. Normally this beer is world-class.

Notes are from last month, enjoyed in my hotel room while working on the road. Murky honey-golden colour with two finger white foamy, creamy head that settled to a thin white film. Sheet and ribbon lace turn spotty on the glass. Slow, steady, persistent carbonation - sure looks good!

Yeasty aroma, slightly spicy nose, allspice. Taste is all wheat beer, banana, clove, touch of sour at mid-mouth, more spice, slight acidity gives it a cleansing mouthfeel. Full play to malted wheat and barley, hops not too dramatic. This is a pretty tasty offering overall. Yeast, described on the can as "specially selected", weighs in heavily and there is a sour, dark fruit under tone that I'm getting that meshes well with the wheat beer chassis. Thanks to the small glasses in my hotel room, the yeast cloud is more visible with every pour.

Thanks to biegaman for dropping this home grown classic on me, I've lost my Denison's Weissbier virginity!